• Breaking from tradition, Lee to first visit Japan before he flies to US for a summit with President Donald Trump

ISTANBUL

South Korea will seek to “reclaim” wartime operational control (OPCON) of its military from the US during President Lee Jae Myung’s administration, the daily Korea Times reported Wednesday.

It said the Lee administration wants to reinstate wartime control during its time in power, according to its five-year policy road map blueprint announced by the State Affairs Planning Committee.

However, the blueprint is not the final policy document of the government and will undergo reviews before likely being adopted by Lee’s Cabinet.

Lee was elected in snap presidential polls in June after his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol was ousted over his failed bid to impose martial law last December.

South Korea is one of the oldest military allies of the US, hosting more than 28,500 American soldiers on the Korean Peninsula and the South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff holds peacetime OPCON, while the US-led Combined Forces Command holds the operational control during war.

During his parliamentary confirmation, South Korea's Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back had said the Lee administration would seek to regain wartime operational control of South Korea, which would require "in-depth conversations" with the US.

The roadmap says the Lee administration pledges to “normalize” relations with North Korea, shifting toward reconciliation and cooperation.

“By institutionalizing peace and coexistence, the government will make an effort to transform the so-called ‘Korean Peninsula risk’ into a ‘Korean Peninsula premium’,” according to the State Affairs Planning Committee.

Soon after being elected to the top post, Lee banned sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the divided border, also dismantling the propaganda broadcasting infrastructure, an initiative reciprocated by North Korea.

It also delayed parts of joint drills with the US to later dates, which North Korea has repeatedly criticized.

While Pyongyang has also stopped propaganda broadcasts, Seoul has reported that North Korea had started to remove loudspeakers along the border. It also stopped flying trash-filled balloons into the South Korean territory.

Seoul has also emphasized “pragmatic diplomacy” to raise South Korea to a “G7 plus” level diplomatic power and build an elite military force capable of countering North Korea's nuclear, missile, and cyber threats.

Notably, Lee will fly to Japan next week to hold a two-day summit with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Aug. 23-24, before he flies to the US for a maiden summit with President Donald Trump.

It would be the first time a South Korean president has visited Japan before a US counterpart.

To achieve goals set in the blueprint, the Lee administration would require changes in 951 laws and ordinances and a separate budget of about $152 billion until 2030.